When Ebner walked out of the Daily Observer building, it was almost two in the morning.
Initially, he had nothing to do with it. However, he did not know what the Mandated Punishers were thinking, but they added the story of "a hero who was quick-witted enough to see through a murderer's scheme and dismantle a bomb at the last moment". Even His Highness expressed his gratitude to him in public… Then, he was interviewed by the enthusiastic reporters of the Daily Observer…
"What's the use of verbal gratitude… Why don't you give me something practical?" Ebner shook his head and muttered to himself. He also understood that the Mandated Punishers were looking for an excuse to detain the guests and wait for the professionals of the Church of Earth Mother. He knew this when he saw Father Utravsky arrive with the Forsaken Ones, but he still felt that it was unnecessary to push him out as a "hero."
Although he was rather unhappy with the methods of the Mandated Punishers, Ebner still informed Evan, who was responsible for "protecting" him, about the bleeding of the black eyeball that he had observed before leaving. As for whether he believed it or not, it was none of his business.
Just as they walked out of the building, Ebner saw two familiar figures standing inside and outside the road. They were Xio and Fors.
Xio seriously sized up Ebner and heaved a sigh of relief when she noticed that he wasn't injured. She asked vaguely, "Is it over?"
Ebner shot a glance at the other MI9 security personnel not far away and nodded slightly. "It's over. There's no danger for now." As a "hero" who had just eliminated the threat of the "bomb," revealing this level of information wasn't a problem.
Xio also knew that this wasn't the place to talk. After some thought, she asked softly, "Is… is it something you can tell me?"
Her tone was a little unstable as she once again felt how weak she was… If she had the strength of a Mid-Sequence Beyonder, she definitely wouldn't have waited here for the outcome after Fors told her that something might happen at the ball. Instead, she would have entered the building to help!
Unfortunately, she was only a Sequence 8. If she rashly entered, not only would she be of no help, she might even become a burden.
Ebner could tell that Xio wasn't in a good mood, and he could roughly guess what she was thinking. But this wasn't a good place to comfort anyone, so he said, "You should be busy later. We'll talk more about it when we meet in East Borough on Sunday night."
He felt that other than the possible "arrangements" involving the King of Angels and the suspected God of Knowledge and Wisdom, it shouldn't be a problem to tell Xio the rest. This could increase Xio's knowledge and also make her more wary of Demonesses.
Xio nodded at that and said no more to Ebner. After routinely checking his registration information, he let Luke off the hook.
Fors, who was standing outside, felt relieved when she saw him. She also teased him, "The Hero has returned triumphantly. It looks like my script is pretty good."
"Hero? Did you already hear something?" Ebner asked subconsciously.
"What?" Fors was at a loss when she heard that, unsure of what he meant.
"Nothing… I'm just a little allergic to that word recently," Ebner said with a smile as he rubbed his forehead.
…
After sending Fors home, Ebner finally returned to his teacher's house before four o'clock.
After dismissing the servant who had woken up to open the door for him, he returned to his room and sealed the entire room with a wall of spirituality. Then, he set up a ritual and began praying to Mr. Fool.
Even when he was in the headquarters building of the Daily Observer, Judy and Cullen had already examined him and confirmed that he was not contaminated, but he still felt that it was safer to let Mr. Fool take a look.
…
In a terrace house at 2 Daffodil Street in Tingen, Klein, who was sleeping soundly, was suddenly woken up by illusory pleas.
He rubbed his dry eyes and lit the candle on the table. He took out his pocket watch in a daze and looked at it repeatedly to confirm that it was three in the morning.
Who is this? Is there something wrong with his head? Why is he praying in the middle of the night? Does he even allow people to sleep? Although Klein was a little grumpy when he woke up, he was worried that his Tarot Club members really had something urgent to attend to. Therefore, he got up and set up a wall of spirituality. Then, he took four steps counterclockwise and chanted incantations before coming above the gray fog.
In the towering palace that resembled a giant's residence, his figure suddenly appeared at the end of the long bronze table. His eyes reflected a crimson star that was constantly shrinking and expanding.
That star belonged to the Tower.
It was him again… What was it this time…
Klein raised his right hand and spread his spirituality to touch the star that represented the Tower.
With a boom, he saw a distorted and blurry scene. He saw Mr. Tower sitting on a chair in a dark corner, dressed in a well-tailored dark blue gown. His hands were clasped together as he held his buried forehead.
At the same time, his calm voice sounded illusory as it echoed,
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era;
"You are the mysterious ruler above the gray fog.
"You are the King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck.
"I pray for your attention.
"I pray for your approval.
…
"I received a book on mysticism written by the Sanguine Duke, the Feast of Blood. I pray that you can tell me if there are any curses or traps in this book."
Klein listened attentively and carefully observed. Finally, he understood what Mr. Tower had described.
Was he so happy that he couldn't sleep after obtaining a mysticism book that he came overnight to make me a firewall?
However, books with mysticism knowledge are exactly what I need right now… However, what Sequence is the Sanguine Duke? From the name, he should be a high-level Beyonder…
After some deliberation, Klein decided to help The Tower take a look. This way, it would be easier for The Fool to ask him some questions about the debt that The Tower owed him. Of course, the most important thing was that the gray fog was sufficiently safe. Even if there was a problem with the book, it would be very difficult to threaten him on the gray fog.
But even so, Klein first conjured a fountain pen and goatskin parchment and wrote:
"Bringing the 'Feast of Blood' mentioned by Tower with the gray fog won't bring me any danger."
Holding the silver chain, Klein nearly made contact with the words on the goatskin with the topaz pendant. He half-closed his eyes and recited the divination statement.
"Bringing the 'Feast of Blood' mentioned by Tower with the gray fog won't bring me any danger."
"Bringing the 'Feast of Blood' mentioned by Tower with the gray fog won't bring me any danger."
…
After repeating it seven times, he opened his eyes and looked at the pendulum. He nodded slightly.
The topaz pendant was rotating clockwise, which meant there was no danger.
Therefore, Klein no longer hesitated and began responding to the Tower's plea.
…
In Detective Isengard's bedroom.
Ebner prayed several times before finally stopping. He held the Feast of Blood in his hand and waited for Mr. Fool's response.
He knew that Klein was probably "touring" the old city in his sleep. He might even be "watching" Captain Dunn eat the food he made in "fear." Therefore, there was an 80% chance that he wouldn't respond so quickly.
As time passed, Ebner took a deep breath and constantly consoled himself not to worry about personal gains and losses. Since the Forsaken didn't see any problems, it shouldn't be a big deal. Confirming to the Fool was just an additional layer of insurance.
At that moment, his vision suddenly blurred as he realized that an illusory fog was spreading out from his surroundings.
In the middle of the thick grayish-white fog was an ancient high-back chair. Sitting on the high-back chair was a mysterious existence whose appearance and figure was indiscernible. It was a mysterious existence that overlooked everything.
He finally responded. It seemed like he was fine! Ebner almost blurted out in surprise.
Following that, he heard a familiar deep voice.
"Got it. Give me the book 'Sacrifice'."
As his voice echoed, the gray fog vanished, and Ebner returned to his room.
The uneasiness in his heart suddenly disappeared. He subconsciously straightened his back and walked to the altar that had been set up a long time ago. He placed the Feast of Blood on it.
…
After the illusory door disappeared, the strong wind raised by the incantation stopped, and the candle flame returned to its original state, Ebner simply tidied up the room and arranged all the materials. Then, he lay down on the bed and returned to his dreamland with exhaustion.
When it was almost noon the next day, Ebner yawned and crawled out of bed. After washing up, he went to the living room on the first floor.
At this moment, Kenny came over with a look of delight and congratulated him. "Mr. Bryan, you are truly famous this time! Even the newspapers under the control of the Church of Storms are praising your wit and courage. And this morning, more than ten reporters from newspapers came to request an interview. However, they were all rejected by Detective Stanton with the excuse that you were too tired and were still resting."
As he spoke, he unfolded several newspapers to the first page and handed them to Ebner.
Ebner took the newspaper and glanced at it.
"The attacker is crazy, the real hero has good eyes and knows what's good for him."—This was a more serious title.
"The prince was in danger, the famous detective stepped forward to save him, but Sivellaus Yard let the criminal go because of his incompetence?"—this was purely to draw hatred for me.
"In the face of danger, the hero appears again. Several ladies fell in love at first sight—I've seen and heard of the Pen's Ball."—I'm afraid there was no love at first sight, but after I cut off a certain lady's arm with a wind blade, she was deeply etched in my memory.
…
Ebner put down the tabloids and picked up the Daily Observer, which had just been published. The report was rather detailed, and even details such as "discovering that a certain lady's expression was not right and the ritual was used" were written vividly.
However, Ebner narrowed his eyes when he read the description. It was only then that he understood the Mandated Punishers' intention of promoting him…